


Crossed

by camichats



Category: Charmed (TV 1998)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Brother Feels, Evil Wyatt Halliwell, Gen, Protective Siblings, Unchanged Future (Charmed 1998)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:35:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23246371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/camichats/pseuds/camichats
Summary: Bianca dies, and Chris manages to get to the past again. Wyatt takes a deep breath, sends the Book back to where it's protected, and follows his idiot brother to bring him home.
Relationships: Chris Halliwell & Wyatt Halliwell
Comments: 8
Kudos: 117





	Crossed

Chris dove for the portal and Wyatt's energy ball just barely missed. He gave a scream of frustration and blew out the rest of the attic's windows. It was probably a good thing that the energy ball had missed because he'd put a little too much power behind it in his anger. It wouldn't have killed Chris, but it would have hurt him more than Wyatt wanted to see. 

Why did Chris have to make everything so damn difficult? Him going back and taking the spell with him only delayed Wyatt for a couple minutes. He already had the portal drawn on the wall and a spell that worked both ways. It had been foolish to think that Bianca could talk some sense into him when Chris had been so hard-headed all his life. Most of his anger was gone now, burned out as quickly as a match. There was always a simmer in the background though, and it had been there since Chris had betrayed him and started working against him. 

He glanced at Bianca's body, then back to the triquetra on the wall. Chris was going to be such a pain about this, but he couldn't risk sending someone else through, not again. Bianca had believed that he didn't care whether Chris lived or died, but she'd been wrong. Any demon that managed to kill Chris would get their entrails slowly dragged out of their still living bodies, but his brother would be dead so it wouldn’t matter how much they suffered for it. Well, looks like the saying "If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself" was true. Granted, he'd already known that, but he'd thought that other people would still be able to _do_ the job. In most cases, perhaps that was true. But when it came to Chris, demons couldn't help but fail over and over again. Even Bianca, for all her skills, had failed to complete the job. She'd gotten most of the way there since she'd actually managed to bring Chris back with her, but that wasn't what she had promised. 

He could call for someone to clean this up, but then they'd wonder where Chris was and why Bianca was dead when he'd just barely declared her one of them again. No, better to get Chris back, and _then_ deal with this mess. With a wave of his hand, he set Bianca's corpse on fire. Normally he just banished bodies to the nearest mortal police station-- anyone with a body left behind after death was in their database-- and let them take care of it, but Phoenixes always burned their dead and Bianca had earned this much for the years of service she had given; reluctant though those years might have been, she'd still been the best. The fire burned out, leaving only a black scar on the broken wood. 

He walked over to the Book, staring at it for a moment. Chris was so caught up, so sure in his idea of good and evil that he couldn't enjoy that Wyatt had given him the world. A very familiar feeling of annoyance went through him, and he sent the book back to his altar room with a twitch of his fingers. He stepped in front of the portal and waved his hand, activating it. It shone with that same glimmering blue, and he was relieved that Chris had managed to do the impossible in getting away from him. As far as his brother was concerned, 'impossible' was a challenge, not a limitation. 

He stepped through the portal and materialized in an attic that was much more familiar than the sterile museum reproduction. Standing there was Chris, the Charmed Ones, and Leo. As much as he hated Leo and, well, pretty much everyone but Mom, Chris was the only important one, and his entrance hadn't made a noise. He'd loved his aunts once, but they were long since dead; Chris was still alive and worth saving. "You're a pain in the ass, you know that?" Wyatt said. 

All of them jerked their heads at the sound of his voice, looking at him at the same time. Four with great suspicion, and one-- Chris-- just glared. "The hell are you doing here?" 

"Getting you, isn't it obvious?" 

"What happened to sending another assassin?" Chris asked, and the set of his jaw meant that he wasn't going to forget Bianca's death any time soon. 

"Chris, who is this guy?" Phoebe asked. 

Oh this was _priceless_. Chris went back to 'save him' and he didn't even tell their family why he was doing it? But no, it had to be a bit more than that. Your son didn't come back from the future because it was honky-dory, which meant Chris hadn't told them who his parents were. Had he even mentioned Wyatt's position? Their aunts hadn't been able to believe it when Wyatt was right there telling them to their faces, there was no way Chris had risked it in this time. 

"No one." 

Wyatt quirked an eyebrow. "As entertaining as this conversation could be, why don't you save yourself the trouble and come home?" 

"I don't have a home with you." 

Wyatt rolled his eyes. "Always so dramatic. Mom always said-" Chris grit his teeth and Wyatt smirked "-that it was pointless." 

"Your _brother_?" the room exclaimed in varying levels of disbelief. 

"Chris," Mom started to say, shocked that Chris had been living with them for so long and never mentioned that A. he had a brother and B. that brother was evil and probably a big part of the reason he'd come back. Wait... she looked closer at the other visitor from the future. "Wyatt?" 

"In the flesh." 

"But- Chris said a demon got to you, that's what he came here to stop." She looked towards Chris for answers. 

"A demon turns Wyatt evil," he said, and Wyatt snorted. 

"Delusional, as always. As heart warming as this family reunion is, I'm only here for Chris." 

"You lied to us," Leo said, glaring at Chris, and this time when Wyatt rolled his eyes, he was much more aggravated than amused. 

"It's his specialty, not that you ever deserved the truth from him. Chris. Come home, or I will force you." Threatening Chris was never any fun, but it was occasionally necessary. 

"We're not going to let you take him," Paige said. "Especially if you're planning to hurt him." 

"It's amusing that you think you could stop me," he said, giving her a cold look. 

Paige's eyes narrowed, and it was obvious she was about to try something. There was the barest twitch in her hand, but Wyatt was always faster. No matter what she did, the only person to hurt him in recent memory was Bianca, and she had always been unique. It really was a shame about her, but he couldn't mourn her loss forever. Chris was in arm's reach; he was so close Wyatt could taste it. 

"Paige, don't," Chris cut in quickly. He knew that Wyatt wouldn't risk killing them, but he could easily hurt them, and there was no reason to let them deal with how that felt-- both physically and emotionally with the knowledge that their nephew was willing to hurt them if it got him what he wanted. 

It wasn't neat, but it was effective. Chris had that look in his eye, the one that meant Wyatt had won this battle. If it was anyone else, winning the battle meant that Wyatt won, period. But Chris always had plans and contingencies. He was slippery, but Wyatt was learning to counteract that. He had half a plan in mind, a potion that could strengthen their bond so he'd always be able to find him. And if Wyatt could find Chris no matter where he was, then Chris's little resistance would be very short-lived. 

Wyatt raised an eyebrow, back to looking at Chris. His brother had never understood that in the end, Wyatt would always win. "What's it going to be? Will you come willingly, or see how far I'll go?" 

Chris clenched his jaw. "Fine," he spit. 

"Chris no," Phoebe said, catching his arm before he could take a step. "You came back for a reason, we can't do it without you. You can't feel it, but I can tell you that what he's feeling..." she glanced at Wyatt for a moment, her expression pained, then back to Chris. "It's not good. Stay here, we'll figure it out." 

"That's sweet, Pheebs, but it's pointless," Chris said with half a smile. "Besides, now that you know something happens, you can be prepared for it. Just- be careful. It happens sometime before I'm born, okay?" And with that, he strode towards Wyatt. "Let's get this over with." 

Wyatt waved a hand nonchalantly behind him, and he could feel the pulse of magic as it opened again. He wasn't going to give Chris a chance to get away again, so he clamped a hand on his arm before they stepped through. 

Chris sighed, eyes downcast as they reappeared in the museum's attic. "Home sweet home," he muttered. 

"I don't know why you insist on making everything so difficult," Wyatt said, loosening his grip but not letting go. 

"I make things difficult? If you'd left the world alone, we wouldn't be in this mess." 

"We're not in a mess." 

"You're the fucking ruler of the Underworld, Wyatt. You exposed magic and made yourself King of Earth. Everything's a mess, and it's because of you." 

Wyatt narrowed his eyes. "I did it to keep us safe." 

"You did it for power. It's why you do everything." 

"Everything," Wyatt repeated. "Me coming after you and bringing you here, I did that for power?" 

Chris looked at him for the first time since getting back, and it was just to glare at Wyatt like he hated him. "You're on a fucking high with me. You like knowing that I don't want to be here but you can force me. Me being here doesn't give you any extra power, but you like the reminder that no matter how much I want to leave, I can't." 

"I want an awful lot of things, in your mind. How greedy of me. Maybe I'll go down to the little Christian church and confess." Being in the manor wasn't good for them, so Wyatt shimmered them home. Or, where home was now that the Nexus was gone from under the Manor. He'd never told Chris that was why they left, but it wouldn't have made a difference even if he had; Chris probably wouldn't have believed him before, and he _definitely_ wouldn't now. 

He didn't have time to do the ritual to strengthen their bond, but he had a temporary fix waiting for the next time he got Chris around him. He'd enchanted a bracelet to basically be a homing beacon. It didn't do much more than that, because the point wasn't control, it was to ensure that Wyatt didn't lose track of him again. Wyatt wasn't going to let go of him until he got the bracelet on, and then he wouldn't have to worry about it again. The bracelet was setting atop a pile of books-- he hated clutter, but it reminded him of Chris and without the presence of his brother, he was going to settle for little things like annoying piles of objects-- and when he held out his free hand, it flew over. He clipped it on Chris's wrist, then let go of him. 

"What is this?" Chris asked, holding it up to his eyes. 

"A tracker, nothing more. Whether you believe it or not Chris, I care about you. I'm going to keep you safe despite your best efforts to get killed." 

"I'm not trying to get myself killed." He knew that it wouldn't work, but he tried to take it off anyways. It didn't budge, didn't even jingle where the latch should’ve been against the band. Chris peered closer, then sighed, dropping his hand back to his side. The bracelet didn't _have_ a latch anymore, it was a solid black band all the way around. Which meant that if it _could_ be taken off, Wyatt was the one that had to do it. 

"Could have fooled me. I know you won't listen if I tell you not to pick a fight with my demons, but at least _try_ to stay in the room for as long as you can. I have to deal with the Phoenix Clan now that Bianca's gone." Not that the Phoenixes liked him very much, but they were backing him because he was more powerful than their alternatives-- dying at his hand, supporting someone else, or trying to hide. 

A flash of pain crossed Chris's face, and Wyatt sighed. 

"I didn't want to kill her." He hadn't wanted to and he hadn't _meant_ to either, but admitting mistakes to Chris was always a bad idea. "Stop worrying about her; her troubles over, our's are just beginning." 

"What are you talking about?" Chris asked before Wyatt could just shimmer away and leave him alone to twiddle his thumbs. 

Wyatt slanted a look at him before deciding to admit what had been going on in his absence. "When you left, there were concerns about my ability to rule." 

"So? Kill them off like you always do." 

"It's not that easy this time." 

Chris raised an eyebrow. "There's a demon that can actually match you in power?" 

"Of course not. They're staying hidden, and they're gaining traction. Killing thirty percent of your kingdom is frowned on, even for demons." 

"Ah, so there is a reason you brought me back. What's the party line? I went undercover on the surface to find the good witch resistance against you? No one would believe that, I hope you think of a better lie." 

"I don't owe them an explanation," Wyatt said, which was another way of saying he couldn't think of an appropriate lie to fit the situation. "But I'm invulnerable to their attacks, you aren't. So stay here until I get the situation in hand." 

"Take me with you." 

Wyatt paused. "What?" He was suspicious, and rightfully so since Chris always had plans and ideas-- and most of the time, they weren't for things Wyatt wanted too. 

"You need to rebuild your image. If they see me back by your side, that would help, right?" 

"It would, if you were actually there to help." 

"Who says I won't be helping?" 

"I am," Wyatt said wrily, "right now." 

"I wouldn't do that." 

"Wouldn't you? Since when do you support me in this?" 

Chris rolled his eyes with an aggravated huff. "Look, I hate what you've done. I don't support all the innocents and witches that you've killed, but you created this kingdom and no one else can run it. If they manage to- I dunno, de-throne you or something, it would be a constant battle for the mantle after that. You're not a kind ruler, but a demon would be a dozen times worse. After a year of fighting for the throne, there wouldn't be a kingdom left. So yeah, I'm going to help you keep it since I couldn't fucking stop you." 

"Does this mean you'll stop your little resistance?" 

He grit his teeth, but he was far from defeated. "What would be the point?" Chris asked. 

Wyatt considered him for a moment, but how much worse could things get? Chris might have left him in the past, but that wasn't an option for him now. And Chris would never betray him, much less to demons. "Fine, you can come. But if someone starts throwing fireballs, you orb away. I can take on the hordes of the Underworld, but not while I'm protecting you." 

"Will you ever believe that I can protect myself?" 

They both knew the answer to that, so they were left staring at each other for a long moment. Wyatt held out a hand. "Let's go." 


End file.
